


in fair pennsylvania where we lay our scene

by forpuckssake



Series: ice queen [8]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: F/M, Gen, Women in the NHL, normalize talking about your feelings in hockey, tk and jake guentzel forced to get along is my kink, we love romero and juliet references in this house
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:40:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21829852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forpuckssake/pseuds/forpuckssake
Summary: It was the last thing Travis wanted to do. In fact, he made a point of ignoring the existence of the other Pennsylvania team as much as he could.Still, he thought of the sad backup goalie of the Flyers slouched in her stall with bags under red-rimmed eyes and her pointed avoidance of her phone. It steeled his resolve as he used a number he had promised he would never call.Jake Guentzel picked up on the first ring.“Funny,” he said in the most unamused tone in lieu of a greeting, “I was just about to call you.”----Two captains, both alike in (lack of) dignity,In fair Pennsylvania, where we lay our scene,Put aside their differencesBecause these stupid children obviously don't knowWhat the heck are they doingSomeone please get them.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Series: ice queen [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1311296
Comments: 13
Kudos: 56





	in fair pennsylvania where we lay our scene

**Author's Note:**

> me, making romeo and juliet references?? more likely than you think
> 
> i finished my fall semester so now im back until the end of january and i have soooo much to post for this series
> 
> this is just the beginning of elle's sophomore season in the nhl, so there's a whole lot more but just the first few weeks ended up being close to 9000 words so i fear to think about what an entire season would look like
> 
> anyway now that elle is established in her position i want to explore her relationship with her team as well as other players, and after this i think we'll be branching out just a little since we have breezy and allie waiting in the wings to make their nhl debuts so we'll be seeing much more of them soon :)
> 
> as usual there are probably so many mistakes hidden in here whoops
> 
> also tw for blood and missing chicklets so if that's not your thing you should probably skip the first bit that has gavin as the pov

Elle did her best to ignore the swirl of drama going on around her, but that was a little difficult to do when she was a subject of the aforementioned drama.

Her sophomore season in the NHL was fast approaching—she had been back in Philadelphia for a few weeks, and September was nearing its end. Flyers hopefuls were being sent down to Lehigh Valley and there were still moving pieces, but it was still hard to ignore that October was just a few short days away.

The first game of the season was October 3. The Flyers would be playing the Penguins on October 16.

“This is getting a little ridiculous,” Theo said from where he lounged on her couch, phone in hand. “I keep seeing articles comparing you two to Romeo and Juliet.”

“I’m really trying to pretend it doesn't exist,” Elle said, flopping down beside him with a sandwich. “Let’s talk about something else. Have you heard anything yet?”

She didn’t have to elaborate on what _anything_ meant. “No,” Theo said with a sigh. “I’ve decided to believe in the saying that no news is good news.”

He was still waiting to be sent down to the Phantoms again, Elle knew. She had peeked into the room in her apartment that he was currently occupying only to find his suitcase still mostly packed like he would have to leave in a hurry. It made her heart hurt.

“It’s our year, remember?” Elle said. It was easier to worry about her best friend making the team rather than what was being said about her everywhere.

Theo gave a half-hearted shrug. “Yeah, I sure hope so."

* * *

Two days later, Theo got a phone call. He stayed in the guest room for a solid three minutes before he opened his door so sudden and violently that Elle nearly dropped the coffee much she was holding.

“I’m on the team!” he screeched.

Elle screamed, quickly setting her mug aside and throwing herself into Theo’s arms. “Fuck yeah you are!” she yelled in his ear, finding that her eyes were suddenly stinging. “I’m so happy for you.”

He took a step back and held her at arms-length, grinning so wide it must have hurt. “This is going to be great,” he said. “Just like old times, eh?”

Elle scrubbed furiously at her eyes. “Hey, Theo?”

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t it funny that I can pester _you_ to move in with _me_ now?”

Theo’s laughter filled the air, and Elle couldn’t be happier to realize that she would be hearing it throughout the season in person rather than over the phone.

* * *

Preseason passed in a blur with Elle only playing in two games, and before she knew it the first game of the season was upon them.

Their first game of the season was at home, which was nice—the crowd would be wild with energy and playing a home-opener meant that there wouldn’t be a weight on their shoulders. The Flyers could play hockey with nothing on the line and a whole season of possibilities before them. It was the perfect recipe for a good game.

And it was a good game. The visiting Blackhawks lost 4-1, and the Flyers flooded the ice at the end to line up and congratulate Carter, fueled with excitement and promise.

* * *

They proceeded to lose the next three games.

Elle threw her phone across the room when the NHL app saw them sink straight to the bottom of the standings.

* * *

The evening before their game against the as of yet undefeated Penguins found the Flyers pulling up to their hotel with a new kind of fire keeping them going. Facing off against the Penguins, after all, was enough to make any slump take a backseat to their rivalry.

There was a knock on Elle’s hotel door around eight that night, and she opened it to find Gavin standing there with a big smile in place.

He looked tan from a long summer spent on the shores of various lakes, his shoulders just a little bit more broad from the amount of training. Elle hadn’t seen him since he had visited her in September right before training camps began, and it felt a lot longer than the month it had really been.

He took a few steps into her room and the door had barely closed before she was crowding into his space and clinging on.

“Missed you,” she murmured into his shoulder.

Gavin huffed out a laugh against her hair. “Missed you too,” he said, hugging her tightly. “I know we both need to get to bed early tonight, but you up for some ice cream?”

Elle pulled back with a beaming smile. “You know I can’t say no to that.”

“I know,” Gavin said as she reached for the shoes she had chucked by her bed. “It’s exactly why I suggested it.”

They ran into Liam and Johan in the hallway, and they actually stopped mid-chirp to stare at Elle and Gavin as the door to her room shut behind them.

“Hi guys,” Elle said pleasantly, trying to work around the awkward pause. “This is Gavin. Gavin, this is Liam and Johan.”

Gavin held out a hand and both Liam and Johan practically tripped over themselves to shake it while looking like a bunch of bumbling idiots. Elle internally cringed at their awkwardness.

“Hi,” Liam said. “I figured you both out months ago.”

“Sorry for him, he’s a bit of a freak,” Johan piped up, throwing his arm around Liam.

“I was _so right_ and you told me I was crazy,” Liam complained.

Elle resisted the urge to groan and roll her eyes, so she grabbed Gavin’s hand and tugged him away to avoid further embarrassment. “Goodnight, children.”

“Night, Quee—hey, rude!”

They made it to the elevator followed by Liam’s indignant squawking and Johan complaining about being roped in with him, but the doors slid shut quickly to cut off all noise.

“I’m sorry,” Elle was quick to say. “I promise they’re the only weird ones.” Even as she said it she knew it was a lie because Travis Konecny was the weirdest individual she had ever met in hockey.

“I mean, at least it wasn’t a disaster?” Gavin offered, his lips twitching as he tried not to laugh.

“I’m glad _you_ thought so."

* * *

Elle shoved ice cream in her face as she and Gavin caught up on what they had been doing in the last month from training to meeting the newer players and helping the rookies adjust. After they were all caught up, he proceeded to tease her about all the attention they were getting in the buildup to the game taking place the next evening.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been mentioned this much in hockey news,” he mused. “It’s weird.”

“It’s annoying, is what it is,” Elle sighed. “It could be worse, I guess. I’m used to much meaner things being said about me.”

Gavin nodded solemnly, poking at his strawberry cheesecake ice cream. “I know,” he said. “And I’m sorry.”

Elle shrugged. “I’m used to it. I’m just glad they’re not being shitty about us.

“I mean, there _have_ been some shitty hot-takes.”

“Yeah, but most of it is pretty positive, y’know? I think people are more amused than anything. They want drama and entertainment.”

“I think you should throw down the gloves and fight me tomorrow,” Gavin said cheerily. “That’d be fun.”

“I fight dirty, dude,” Elle said. “Trust me, you don’t want to fight me. I’ll pull your hair. I’m ruthless.”

Gavin cackled. “I don’t doubt it,” he chuckled. “I also don’t have a death wish. No team is going to let their goalie get into a fight without getting involved, and Konecny still scares the shit out of me.”

Travis Konecny was literally 5 feet and 10 inches of pure spite on the ice, but Elle had seen him in makeup and stumbling around drunk and giggling before. He wasn’t exactly the picture of an intimidating figure once he had been seen in that light, and Elle was quick to tell Gavin as much.

He snickered. “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Doesn’t mean I won’t avoid him like the plague on the ice, though.”

“Smart,” Elle hummed. “He may be a mess but he’s also, like, kind of crazy.”

“That he is,” Gavin agreed.

“We aren’t leaving until the morning after the game,” Elle said. “You should come have breakfast with us, meet the team in a setting that’s not related to hockey.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea after a game, regardless of who wins,” Gavin said after a moment. “Maybe next time I’m in Philly?”

Elle felt her smile slip just a little. “Yeah, that’s fine,” she said. “We should probably get back, eh?”

“Eh? Are you Canadian now?” Gavin teased.

“Shut up, it’s your fault, you know.”

* * *

Practice the next morning was normal. They took to the ice after the Penguins had their turn, and once they were done, they returned to their hotel to take their pregame naps.

Elle had always liked to believe she wasn’t one of those superstitious goalies, but even she couldn’t deny that she had a routine that she needed to stick to. Deviating from the routine just messed everything up, so it was safer to stick to it than not.

She set her alarm for the exact same time for every game, giving her enough time to get up and get her makeup done while sipping on her own coffee or the cheap hotel provided coffee. She would set her stuff in front of a bathroom mirror and get to work, taking exactly three minutes to moisturize and prime her face.

Her entire makeup routine could be condensed to about twenty minutes if she really wanted to, and honestly she could probably do less, but she liked to take her time on each thing, especially her eye makeup. After all, winged liner was kind of her thing, and one could never rush art.

After that, she would do her hair to keep it out of her way during games. On days that she knew she’d be sitting on the bench, she would tie it in a simple ponytail if she was feeling lazy, or do something a little more fun like a braid crown if she was feeling particularly motivated.

On days that she was actually going to play, Elle French braided her hair away from her face. It was a lot longer than it had been in years—she really needed to get it cut—but she would tie two elastics around the end for extra security.

Next was her gameday outfit. She was known to rock a pantsuit occasionally, but in all honesty, she preferred dresses for game day. Her dress and shoes were only two items to keep track of, but if she wore a pantsuit, she had pants, a shirt, a jacket, and shoes to worry about. Elle couldn’t trust herself to keep track of multiple items, especially in road cities. She would much rather keep an eye on two things.

Once she was satisfied that everything on her person was in place, she would head out to wherever she needed to be. On that particular game day, she headed down to the hotel lobby where the boys would be waiting for her to get on the bus.

“Your makeup looks great,” Aaron almost always told her. It was kind of their thing now, and they always shared a little smile over the mention of makeup.

“Thanks,” she said. “Sharp enough to cut a bitch?”

He snorted. “Sharp enough for a shut out, I hope.”

“Wishful thinking.”

“I dunno, I think I’m feeling it,” Aaron said wryly.

Elle grinned. “I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

Playing against the Penguins in their own house always sucked. Their fans were rude, but that was a given since Flyers fans were just as vicious when they visited Philly, too. Elle was used to being at other rinks where the fans were not her own, but there was something about Penguins fans that made her especially queasy.

Warmups weren’t too bad—she even spotted a few orange jerseys on their side of the ice, and a group of female fans had made a sign asking for a puck from Elle. She obliged and they slammed their hands happily on the glass, beaming back at her even decked out in black and gold.

She took her place in the net, blocking the warmup shots as best as she could. Carter hovered by her side as they skated back towards the tunnel at the end of warmups.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Carter shrugged, but he still looked concerned. “Just checking,” he said lightly.

Right before they took the ice for the beginning of the game, Theo tapped his helmet to hers and they performed their little handshake.

“Brick wall,” he told her.

It felt so good to hear those words in person rather than reading them on her phone. “Brick wall,” Elle repeated, watching him move onto the next person.

She skated out first, setting herself up in net when it was time for the anthems to begin. She stared down at the ice with her eyes closed while the anthem was sung, tapping her stick against the ice in her own mini applause once it was over, and then stared down the other end of the ice.

The Penguins goaltender was also their backup since they were heading into the first of a back-to-back just as the Flyers were. He stared back at her with the same determination that she did her best to carry.

The puck hit the ice, and the game began.

* * *

It didn’t matter that two of their players were dating because, as usual, Penguins-Flyers game turned ugly really quickly.

It started with a scrum after a bad check lead to a penalty, Flyers and Penguins scrambling to grab onto each other and pushing and shoving as the refs did their best to get everyone torn apart before things could escalate.

The second scrum happened right in the crease when she slapped her catching glove down to cover the puck on the ice and someone took a few extra whacks at her hand in an attempt to free it even as the whistle blew.

“Hey,” Johan barked, shoving the offending Pen away.

Elle scrambled out of the crease, cradling the puck like one might cradle a child. She was still kneeling on the ice as the Pens and Flyers converged on each other by the net when a hand came to rest on her shoulder.

“You good?”

Elle looked up at the concerned tone, scrambling to her feet. “I’m good,” she said quickly. The Penguins’ logo stood out on his chest like a warning sign. “It’s funny, I almost thought the fighting could be avoided.”

He was the same guy that had smiled and laughed with her the night before over ice cream, but when he stood before her on the ice, he looked a lot more serious.

He shrugged at her half-hearted joke. “Maybe your people shouldn’t shove mine.”

That sent a spark of anger right through her. Was he trying to get in her head and rile her up, she wondered? “He whacked my glove, Gavin,” she said impatiently.

“And your forwards do the same thing to our goalie. It’s the game.”

By her net, the scrum had been broken up. It was probably for the best, since she was quickly becoming irritated. It was so much easier to keep her cool during games that she was not actually on the ice for. Why had she thought she would be calm playing against someone she cared about?

Once the scrum had broken up, a linesman came over to her for the puck, which she quickly handed over.

“Bye,” she muttered, skating off to reclaim her place in net.

* * *

It wasn’t the shutout Aaron had been hoping for, but the Flyers managed to scrape together a 3-1 win to halt their previous three-game losing streak and end the Penguin’s four-game win streak.

Elle was pulled for the media, and she briefly wondered how PR had decided that would be a good idea when she came off the ice looking tense and ready to start a fight.

“That goal from Aaron to open up the game was a real beauty,” one reporter began. “Does it make you feel better in net, knowing that you’ve got a little bit of a lead?”

“Yes and no,” Elle said. “I mean, it’s good to have a lead, but the game can change quickly. I don’t want to become too relaxed in net just because we’ve got one goal. It’s nice to take a second to appreciate our team scoring, but then you have to refocus to keep things going.”

“This is your first time playing against the Penguins since Nikita Nikitin was pulled when you were called up,” another said. “Was it weird for you?”

“Not really,” Elle said, but the words sounded false to her. It had been different, after all, in terms of the circumstances. “It’s just another game, and I prepared for it just like I prepare for any other game.”

“Are you sure?”

Elle turned her head slowly to stare down the reporter that had spoke up. “Pardon?” she asked pleasantly. It wasn’t that she hadn’t heard or understood him; she was giving him one last chance to change his mind and back down.

He didn’t seem to get the hint. “Are you sure this game is like any other? You and Gavin Daley became public back in May. It must be a little tense to be playing against someone you’re dating.”

Two stalls over, Travis stopped midsentence to turn panicked eyes her way like he could sense the anger bubbling up in her.

“Just because I’m dating someone doesn’t mean I’m not going to do my job,” Elle said through gritted teeth.

“It looked like he stopped to talk to you at one point during the first period,” the same reporter continued, not knowing that Elle was contemplating throwing her skates at him. “Surely that gets to your head a little bit?”

She felt herself channeling the spirit of Carey Price himself. No one could be more done with media than that man. “I don’t know how many times I can say it’s just like every other game before it sticks,” Elle said. “It may be my first start of the season, but I assure you it’s not my first game in this league. I have the same job every single time, believe it or not. I don’t get paid to show up and sit around, and who we’re playing doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to do my best to make sure I stop every shot I can.”

Carter was suddenly shoving his way through the reporters to plop down right beside her. “I think that’s good,” he said pleasantly, but his eyes were hard in a way that didn’t leave room for any argument.

One of the Flyers’ PR representatives appeared not even a moment later, ushering the various reporters away and shooting a warning look at both Elle and Carter as they went away.

“I don’t think they were done,” Elle mused. “I think they wanted to ask me _one more time_ if this was a weird game for me.”

“I think TK was about to have a heart attack.” Two stalls over, Travis had gone back to his interview, pointedly not looking over at them. “I also felt a little bad for that reporter. He didn’t know you were about to drop the gloves. In the verbal sense, of course.”

Elle snorted. “Men don’t seem to be very receptive to how others are feeling,” she said with a touch of bitterness.

Carter pursed his lips thoughtfully. “You know,” he said hesitantly, “You don’t need to lie to me, right? It’s okay to not be okay.”

“I _am_ okay,” Elle insisted, and now she felt her irritation become more directed at Carter rather than the reporter. “Why won’t anyone believe me?”

“I don’t know, maybe because Gavin said all of, like two sentences to you during the game and you looked ready to commit murder?” Carter frowned right back at her. “Regardless of if you’re okay or not, it’s not healthy for you to be, like, _angry_.”

“I’m not angry,” Elle huffed. “Irritated, yeah, but not angry.” She stood abruptly. “I need to shower,” she said, and then quickly escaped.

* * *

_Good game_ , Gavin texted her later that night once she had settled into bed.

Elleshoved her face into her pillow without replying.

* * *

She woke up early to grab breakfast with the team before they would be forced to board the bus. She was one of the first people to get to the lobby, and she was a little startled to see Gavin sitting amongst Theo, Aaron, Liam, and Johan who were the only ones there already.

“Hey, Queenie,” Liam greeted around a mouthful of pancakes.

Elle waved a little before walking over to Gavin where he was seated between Theo and Aaron. “What are you doing here?” she asked, trying to sound light and not as irritated as she felt.

He quirked a brow. “You invited me.”

Elle ground her teeth together. “You said _no_.”

Aaron and Theo looked back and forth between them like a tennis match, both sensing the impending storm. “I’m gonna get some more, uh, fruit,” Theo coughed awkwardly.

“Ditto,” Aaron piped up, and then the two of them escaped toward the breakfast buffet table.

“I figured it probably wasn’t that bad of an idea after all,” Gavin said like Elle wasn’t fuming in front of him. “My reception has been pleasant so far. I guess everyone is going to be in a good mood from your win last night.”

“It’s not going to be a pleasant reception from me,” Elle said in a quiet, flat whisper. “In fact, if I'm being completely honest, I’m kind of mad at you and I don’t really want to see you right now.”

Gavin frowned. “Care to tell me why?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really want to cause a scene by explaining it to you in public, in front of _my team_ ,” Elle muttered. “I’d be more than happy to tell you later, though. I didn’t respond to you last night because I didn’t think it was fair to reply when I was still mad.”

Gavin’s frown disappeared, his face becoming carefully blank. “I see,” he said. “I’ll be heading out, then.”

He didn’t say bye as he stood, and he didn’t look back as he walked quickly out toward the lobby doors. Elle turned to find that Liam and Johan were both staring at her from across the table with wide eyes.

“Eat your pancakes,” Elle grumbled, stalking off toward the buffet table.

By the time she returned to the table, both Aaron and Theo had finished the fruit they had used as an excuse to remove themselves from the earlier awkward situation. Johan and Liam had escaped, probably heading back to their rooms.

“So now that you’ve officially scared the children off, do you want to talk about it?” Theo asked, keeping his voice low as other teammates appeared to eat their breakfast.

“No, not really,” Elle said, settling in with her food. “TK and Patty and all the others will be down here soon, and I don’t really want to be the topic of breakfast.”

“You know for a fact that Liam and Johan are going to snitch on you, though,” Theo said.

Aaron snorted. “Not if they value their lives,” he said.

“True,” Theo agreed. “Well, if you want to talk, we’ll be here.”

“Thanks,” Elle muttered, and then proceeded not to talk all through breakfast.

* * *

_Girl Power Chaos Squad_

_Elle  
Guys I fucked up_

_Allie  
Yeah tell us something we didn’t know  
You for real looked ready to commit homicide in that interview I saw of you_

_Breezy  
RIP reporter dude_

_Elle  
I kind of did contemplate murder, but I refrained_

_Nat  
Aw that’s no fun  
But that’s not why you’re mad right?_

_Allie  
Yeah you were definitely mad before that  
Like, from the very beginning of that interview  
What’s up??_

_Elle  
Gavin was just a dick to me I guess??  
And I’m sure he’s like that when he’s playing but like it was really weird to have it directed at me  
Especially since I don’t know him in that context y’know?_

_Nat  
What do you mean?_

_Elle  
Okay so like there was a scrum last night because I got whacked a couple of extra times after the whistle and I made a joke about how I thought maybe it wouldn’t be such a violent game (yknow cuz we’re a thing and I thought I was being funny but I guess not?) and then he was all like well maybe YOUR people shouldn’t shove mine and that made me maaaaad so I told him that whatever faceless penguin hit my glove and he was just all like *shrug emoji* it’s the game and your forwards do it to our goalie too  
and that made me even more mad so I ignored his text that night which admittedly was petty but if I had responded I would have been snarky because I was still mad not gonna lie  
so I decided to be the bigger person and just not respond so I wouldn’t be shitty  
BUT THEN THIS MORNING_

_Allie  
Oh boy_

_Elle  
So like I had invited him to come eat breakfast with the team so he could like meet them in a non-hockey setting to avoid fights and stuff and he made up a half-assed excuse and said no when I brought it up before the game right?  
Which like fine whatever you’re not comfortable meeting them yet and that’s disappointing but I wasn’t gonna pressure him or anything so I let it go  
And then he showed up anyway despite saying no and I realized I was still mad because he was sitting with theo and ak like nothing was wrong but I was still mad right_

_Breezy  
I don’t like where this is going_

_Elle  
And I mean I straight up TOLD him I was mad and that I didn’t respond to him the night before because of that and then I also said I really didn’t want him there  
So he left  
and now its been three days and we haven’t spoken but now I’m also the asshole because I don’t know what to say to him_

_Nat  
Be honest you idiot  
Just talk to him_

_Allie  
For real I thought you were supposed to be one of the smarter ones_

_Elle  
Well in case you forgot only you and Breezy went to college_

_Breezy  
True but I’m still a whole idiot lol_

_Nat  
True_

_Breezy  
Rude! At least I can suck it up and talk to a boy to explain why I’m mad  
Call him, Queenie_

_Allie  
^^_

_Elle  
ugh okay. I’ll check back in later_

_Nat  
You better!!_

* * *

Elle called Gavin right after venting to her friends, but he was either busy or ignoring her calls because she went to voicemail after a few rings.

She took a deep breath. “Hey,” she said. “I’m sorry for—well, actually, I’m not sorry for being mad, but I’m sorry leaving you hanging for so long. I’m ready to talk if you are. Please call me back when you can.”

* * *

_Girl Power Chaos Squad_

_Elle  
He didn’t answer_

_Allie  
He’s probably busy, giving it some time. If he doesn’t call you back by tomorrow try again._

* * *

Luckily for Elle’s sanity she didn’t have to wait too long because Gavin called her back a few hours later.

“Hey,” he said. “Sorry I missed your call, I was out with some of the guys.”

“That’s okay,” Elle replied. “Do you have time to talk?”

“Yeah. Are you ready to tell me why you were mad at me?”

“Well, you were kind of a dick, for starters.”

“Oh?” Elle had no idea how someone could make one syllable sound so carefully blank but irritated at the same time, but somehow Gavin had accomplished it. “How so?”

“You were all rude and defensive,” Elle said. “And maybe I overreacted but it did rub me the wrong way. And then you showed up to breakfast the next morning like you hadn’t just turned the invitation down the day before.”

“Well you had ignored my text so what else was I supposed to do?”

“Take the hint and give me space, maybe?”

“Are you going to pick a fight every time we play each other?” Gavin asked, and he sounded tired now, not irritated. “Because if that’s the case, this isn’t going to work out.”

Elle felt her heart drop into her stomach at the words. “This is literally the first fight we’ve ever had,” she said, and whatever irritation she thought she had gotten rid of was suddenly back. “And you’re right, this isn’t going to work if you’re going to jump to the worst outcome over a fight.”

“I don’t even know what we’re fighting about if I’m being honest.”

Elle’s irritation spiked to all new levels, but she did her best to keep her thoughts and words calm. “You said some stuff that pissed me off during the game. I know we’re both technically at work and I wasn’t expecting you to be the same around me on the ice as you are off the ice, but I also wasn’t expecting you to be, like _rude_.”

“Well I’m sorry for being rude to you during the game,” Gavin said. “But it’s a game, Elle. Things are different on the ice. It’s not just you and me—we’ve got our teams, _opposite teams_ , to worry about.”

“I get that,” Elle said carefully.

Gavin huffed out a breath. “Look, I have to go. Obviously you’re still upset about this and—"

“Do you really, or are you just trying to avoid this conversation?” Elle interrupted. “Because just a minute ago you said you had time to talk.”

“When you’re not mad, we can,” Gavin said. “And obviously you’re still mad.”

“I wouldn’t have called you if I was still mad,” Elle said. “But thanks for deciding how I feel.”

“It’s kind of obvious how you feel since you keep finding new things to get mad about. First it was me being rude on the ice, then showing up for breakfast, and now for saying that you’re still mad at me. Call me when you’re not mad, since that’s your thing.”

“I don’t think I’ll be calling you anytime soon,” Elle said flatly. “But feel free to try it out yourself when you’re not going to get defensive when I try to talk to you about something that genuinely bothered me.”

“I’m _not_ —”

“Bye,” Elle interrupted, and then hung up.

* * *

_Girl Power Chaos Squad_

_Elle  
Well, that was a disaster._

* * *

Gavin was irritated for a few days following their fight. After that, though, he was just numb.

It was dumb, really. They had both made a bigger deal out of the whole situation than it needed to be, but when he heard the click of Elle hanging up, there had been something final in that sound.

He played with more ferocity than before, moving across the ice like he had something to prove. He took more dumb penalties, but he made up for it by racking up some multi-point games.

Jake narrowed his eyes at every penalty but said nothing so long as he made up for it, and he always did, so. He also didn’t say anything about the amount of brooding Gavin was doing in his presence, so he was grateful for that if nothing else.

* * *

It came to a head against the Predators at home.

Gavin approached each faceoff against the same defenseman from the Preds, 7, Rogers. He was one giant sleazeball.

“So you’re the guy that finally cuffed Elle Queen, eh?” were the first words out of his mouth, and Gavin immediately decided he didn’t like the man.

He ignored him for the most part, trying not to give Rogers the satisfaction of reacting. It got to a point where each remark got slightly more inappropriate until it was borderline harassment and it was harder to ignore.

After a scrum by Tristan that had all the Penguins on the ice shoving the Preds away from the crease, Rogers sidled up to his side. “So you just have, like, a general thing for goalies, eh?” he said. “Does your girlfriend know that?”

Gavin scowled but said nothing as he started to skate off toward the faceoff dot just to the right of Tristan, but Rogers stayed on him.

“I guess it doesn’t really matter,” he continued thoughtfully. “She’s probably got a thing for a lot of hockey players.” He then frowned like he was truly sad. “Aw, wait, did you think you were the only one? That’s so sad.”

Gavin felt Jake’s eyes on him but he gritted his teeth and didn’t react.

During the second period, Rogers went too far.

He crunched Gavin violently into the boards. “Since your girlfriend is into d-men, ya think I should pay her a visit? We’ll be in Philly tomorrow, you know.”

Gavin shoved him away and went after the puck again.

There was a icing call, so they were forced to take the faceoff right beside Tristan, which unfortunately put Gavin and Rogers right next to each other again.

“If she’s into d-men, does that mean she likes it rough?” he whispered. “I’ve always thought she looked really nice on her knees. She talks too much, though—nothing I couldn’t cure her of—”

Gavin saw red. He didn’t even remember his gloves hitting the ice before he was on Rogers, throwing punches left and right. He had Rogers on the ice and bleeding, Jake’s hand fisted in the back of his shirt and yelling at him over the screams of the refs and the fans.

“Don’t you _ever_ fucking talk about her like that,” Gavin spat. “Don’t look at her, don’t even so much as _breathe in her direction_ when you play Philly or—”

Zach joined Jake in gripping onto him and practically hauling him off of Rogers, restraining his still shaking arms. The refs were quick to get between the two of them, effectively separating Gavin from his intended target.

Rogers had a crooked nose and there was a stray tooth on the ice.

 _Good_ , Gavin thought viciously. The game misconduct was worth it.

* * *

“What the fuck were you _thinking_?” Coach demanded during the second intermission.

Gavin relayed his side of the story, but Coach still looked royally pissed off.

“You’re going to get suspension, you know," he hissed.

“If I get one, Rogers should, too,” Gavin said. “He was—”

“You can’t go batshit if someone says shit about your girlfriend, Daley.”

“I can go batshit over some creep threatening less than consensual things with someone, Coach!” Gavin snapped. “That’s _sick_ , it’s—"

“Go change out,” Coach interrupted. “I don’t even want to see you right now.”

(“I don’t really want to see you right now,” Elle had said.)

Gavin ground his teeth together in frustration and stalked off toward the showers.

* * *

Elle’s moping around the locker room lasted for all of a day before Travis had enough of it and searched out Theo to find out what was going on.

“I’m not even sure,” Theo admitted. “I know she and Gavin got into a fight, and I thought maybe they were working on resolving it because I heard her on the phone with him the other day but I guess not since she’s been, well—”

“Upset?”

“In a word, yes.”

Travis nodded mutely. “Okay, thanks.”

He decided to give it another few days—if something had happened, maybe it would sort itself out, or more information would come to light.

In the end, Elle continued to become more and more withdrawn.

Carter cornered Travis one day after practice. “It’s getting a bit ridiculous,” he said. “I know this hasn’t affected her on-ice performance, but she’s miserable.”

“Well, it’s not like she’ll talk to anyone about it,” Travis said.

“It’s not healthy.”

“What do you want me to do?” Travis asked. “It’s not my business to ask her about what went on. I don’t want to be pushy.”

“I know someone who doesn’t mind being pushy,” Carter said pointedly. “Give him a call.”

When Claude had retired, he'd snatched up Travis's phone and entered a phone number under a name that Travis despised. "It could come in handy," he said. "Crosby and I don't talk much unless we have to, but sometimes, you've got to do what you've got to do."

Travis had vowed never to use the number, but things were not looking great. His inner Claude was telling him to do what was best for his team, and though Elle wasn't their main goalie, she was still a big part of their morale and her mood in the locker room had an impact on how the rest of the team's mood.

“I don’t think meddling is the way to go," Travis said.

Carter stared him down. “Desperate times, Teeks.”

True enough, Travis decided, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

* * *

It was the last thing Travis wanted to do. In fact, he made a point of ignoring the existence of the other Pennsylvania team as much as he could.

Still, he thought of the sad backup goalie of the Flyers slouched in her stall with bags under red-rimmed eyes and her pointed avoidance of her phone. It steeled his resolve as he used a number he had promised he would never call.

Jake Guentzel picked up on the first ring.

“Funny,” he said in the most unamused tone in lieu of a greeting, “I was just about to call you.”

“Is it about one of your players moping around the locker room?”

“Maybe. You?”

“Perhaps.”

They shared an uncomfortable silence until Jake let out a heavy sigh. “Well, not all hope is lost. Whatever is going on between them wasn’t enough to stop Gavin from dropping the gloves when we played the Preds last night. You’re playing them at home tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. What happened?”

“I didn’t hear it all, but I did catch a bit of one of their d-men telling Gavin he was going to pay Queen a visit to see—”

“Pause. Is this some creepy sexist thing that is going to make me want to attack someone tomorrow?”

“Probably.”

“Oh shit. Continue.”

“Alright. Basically, he insinuated that Queen belonged on her knees—”

“Okay you can stop, I got it and I’m _not_ happy about it.”

Jake snorted. “Well, Gavin wasn’t happy about it either since he broke the guy’s nose and knocked out a couple of teeth. He has a hearing later tomorrow morning and he’s probably going to be suspended.”

“Holy—”

“Exactly,” Jake interrupted. “Whatever’s happened between them is painfully awkward and making him grumpy on our end, so I can’t even imagine what’s going on for you guys.”

Travis frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve seen Queen’s interviews,” Jake said pointedly. “If she’s mad or upset, I find it hard to believe she’s not a verbal ticking time bomb.”

“True,” Travis agreed after a moment. “The rookies and our younger guys _are_ tiptoeing around her a lot lately.”

Jake hummed. “I see. So since we’re both in the same boat, what are you suggesting we do?”

“I was hoping you had an idea.”

“Of course you don’t want to do any of the work.”

“That’s not what I said,” Travis snapped. “I just don’t know how to meddle without also being too much. We want them to work their issues out, not get mad at us for going behind their backs like this.”

“If we can get them talking again, I’m sure everyone involved will be thankful.”

“We’ll see, won’t we?”

* * *

The news of Gavin’s five-game suspension was announced right before practice the next day for what he did to the Predators defenseman, but whatever he said in his defense had no effect in getting the other perpetrator suspended also. The NHLPA was doing their best to keep it under wraps, but it made Travis absolutely furious and he texted Jake to tell him what a load of bullshit it was when he heard the news.

Jake ignored the text in favor of zeroing in on Gavin right before practice. Most of the team was still filing in, but Gavin was in his stall getting ready and chatting with Zach and Alex.

Jake sent a look at Zach and Alex, and the two of them immediately got the hint as he approached Gavin with his best Sidney Crosby look on his face.

“You need to get your shit together,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and Queen but—”

“Nothing,” Gavin interrupted. “There’s nothing. We’re done, I think.”

Jake wondered how much of a dumbass you had to be to not know where you stood with someone else. “You _think_?”

“It’s nothing,” Gavin repeated, and he made a move to get up and get away but Jake stuck his arm straight out to block his path.

“It’s not _nothing_ ,” he snapped, forcing Gavin to sit back down. “You got suspended because some guy riled you up with _words_. He’s not going to do shit to Queen, but you attacked him anyway.”

Gavin opened his mouth to retort but Jake held a hand up. “Shut up, I’m not done.” Gavin’s mouth snapped shut. “Obviously it’s not done. If you care about her, you’ll make things right.”

“She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Is that what she said? Word for word, she said she doesn’t want to talk to you?”

“…No.”

“Then what _did_ she say?”

Gavin shifted uncomfortably and then launched into a brief explanation of what Elle had said bothered her during the game, and how she had told him to leave during breakfast so she had a chance to cool off. “And when she called me to apologize a few days later we got into a fight and I told her not to call me until she was done being mad, and she said she _wouldn’t_ be calling me, but that I could call her when I was done being defensive.”

“And are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Done being defensive?”

“I’m not being defensive!”

“You idiot, you’re a defenseman! You’re a defensive bastard whether you like it or not!” Jake smacked him over the back of his head. “If you’re done being dumb, go apologize to her. In person, not over a phone call since apparently you were a dick to her last time you talked.”

“She doesn’t want to see me,” Gavin huffed. “She said that the last time I saw her, too.”

Jake groaned. “You make everything so fucking difficult. If she was mad at you, of course she didn’t want to see you.”

“So then why should I go and apologize to her? She said she didn’t want to see me!”

“She called you to apologize after, you dumbass. _Obviously_ she was done being mad and trying to make things right until _you_ went and messed it up.”

Gavin sighed. “It doesn’t matter because she still doesn’t want to see me.”

“Then she can tell you that to your face. Go to her tonight after the Flyers game. Apologize, and I know it’s hard for you not to be all repressed and shit, but tell her how you feel. If she doesn’t want to hear it, then maybe it’s not meant to be,” Jake said with a shrug. “But you’re gone on this girl, man. At least try, and if she’s not willing to listen, then let it go.”

Gavin nodded mutely, and Jake left him to get ready for practice.

Before he did, though, he sent off a quick text to Travis.

 _I think everything is going to work out_ , he sent, and he really hoped that he was right.

* * *

Travis pinpointed the man that Gavin had fought almost immediately during warmups.

Predators’ number 7, Rogers, was wearing a cage, but the bruises underneath his eyes from what was likely a broken nose were still clearly visible. He looked down purposely at the ice, not making eye contact with any of the Flyers.

Travis approached him right before they were meant to be heading off the ice at the end of warmups. “Hey,” he snapped.

Rogers looked up, startled.

“Are we going to have a problem tonight?” Travis demanded.

Rogers shook his head quickly. “No, no problems,” he promised.

Travis nodded curtly. “Good. Queenie is backup tonight, and if you come anywhere near our bench it won’t be pretty.”

Rogers quirked a daring eyebrow. “Are you _threatening_ me?”

“No, I’m _promising_ you,” Travis said, and then skated off toward the tunnel.

* * *

The game went to overtime and then a shootout, but Carter really came through and managed to stop the three shots that came his way. Travis didn’t manage a shootout goal, but Nolan came through to get them the win.

The Flyers took to the ice to congratulate Carter, and Travis did his obligatory hug and head-tap before looping back to the end of the line where Elle was standing. He reached out and fondly ruffled her hair, messing up her ponytail and sending pieces sticking up in different directions.

Elle scowled. “What was that for?” she demanded, fixing the hat that he had basically shoved off her head.

“Just ‘cause,” Travis replied, and when he turned to look over at the visiting side he made caught sight of number 7’s retreating back as it disappeared down the tunnel.

 _Good fucking riddance_ , he thought.

* * *

Travis soon discovered he had no need to meddle. As he walked with some of the guys and Elle out to their cars after they had talked to the media and showered, who else would be in the player’s parking lot other than Gavin Daley himself?

He was leaning against Elle’s car, but he stood up straighter when he caught sight of everyone coming.

Travis could practically see the tension as it hung in the air. He jerked his head to the side at Nolan and Ivan to get them to follow, and then he clapped Theo on the back and started steering him away.

“I’ll give you a ride home, bud,” he offered, knowing that he and Elle often carpooled together.

He pulled out his phone and sent off a quick text, asking, _Are you responsible for Daley showing up in our parking lot?_

Theo frowned and looked back at where Gavin and Elle still stood in what appeared to be a silent stare-down. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea—”

“Trust me, they need to talk,” Nolan mumbled. “If Queenie doesn’t stop looking like a kicked puppy, we’re _all_ going to lose our minds.”

“It’s for the best if she'll stop looking so upset,” Ivan agreed. “ _God_ , I need a drink.”

Travis’s phone buzzed with an incoming text. _Maybe. You can thank me later_ , Jake had sent back.

He shoved his phone in his pocket. “After a whole week and a half of the moping, I think I need a drink too,” Travis groaned.

* * *

“Hi,” Gavin said quietly once they were alone.

“Hey,” Elle said. “Are you done being mad?”

“I wasn’t—” Elle’s lips formed a thin line like they always did when she wanted to say something snarky but was holding herself back. Gavin sighed. “Okay, yeah, I was mad.”

“I know.”

“ _Was_ being the keyword here,” Gavin tacked on. “Right now, though, I’m just… tired.”

“Then why are you here?”

Gavin shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket to keep them warm. “I wanted to apologize. It wasn’t fair that I got mad at you for trying to explain why you were upset.”

Elle crossed her arms over her chest. “You didn’t call me back.”

“Why—what does that have anything to do with?”

“I told you to call me back when you were done with being mad,” Elle said, and a muscle on the side of her face twitched. Gavin realized it was her way of trying not to get worked up. “I figured you didn’t see a point in fixing anything since you didn’t call.”

“I—no, Elle, that’s not…” He took a few steps toward her, and she didn’t step back, so he slowly brought his hands to rest on her arms and draw her closer. “That’s not why I didn’t call you back. It’s stupid, I know, but you were mad and I wasn’t making anything easier so I wanted to come apologize to you in person.” He gave a small smile. “A benefit of the suspension is that I don’t have a game to play in so I’m not too worried about the long drive I’ll have back tonight.”

Elle frowned up at him. “What suspension?” she demanded.

“Oh, you hadn’t heard?”

“No. I was kind of avoiding all news of you since I was under the impression we were done.”

Gavin cringed. “I got in a fight,” he offered.

“They wouldn’t have suspended you over something like that," Elle said suspiciously. 

“I might have broken his nose and knocked out a couple of teeth.”

“What the fuck?”

“He said some stuff.”

“You broke a guy’s nose and knocked out his teeth because he _said some stuff_?”

“It was some pretty nasty stuff,” Gavin offered weakly.

“That doesn’t make it any better!” Elle protested.

“It was stuff about you, Elle,” he retorted.

“ _Me_? So?”

“ _So_ it pissed me off—”

“And you _fought_ him?”

“—and I fought him—”

“But _why_ —”

“—because I love you!”

Elle wondered if it was possible for her eyes to pop out of her head from how much they widened. They stood there in complete silence for a moment, and then Gavin withdrew so that they were no longer touching.

“It was dumb,” he mumbled at last, his cheeks red. “But he was saying the nastiest things that objectified you and no one should _ever_ be able to say those things about _anyone_ , much less _you_.”

“Oh,” Elle squeaked after a moment.

Gavin ran a shaky hand through his hair, a habit that Elle had learned in the time that they had been together truly displayed how nervous he was.

“And it took me getting suspended to realize that this whole thing is _stupid_ ,” he said after a moment. “Regardless of whether or not I thought I did anything wrong, my actions upset you, and that should have been enough for me to take a step back and take note of it so that it doesn’t have to come up again. I got mad because I thought you were overreacting, but it didn’t help that I also overreacted, and Jake finally called me out on my shit.”

“Did you get defensive with him, too?” Elle asked flatly.

“…Okay, so maybe I deserved that. And yes, but he kept on me until I pulled my head out of my ass.”

“I see,” Elle said. She took a deep breath. “Thank you for apologizing. I know it’s hard to understand why I was upset, but I appreciate that you’re trying. And I’m sorry too. It was a dumb thing to be mad over.”

“It’s not dumb,” Gavin interrupted. “If it’s something that bothered you, you should be able to tell me and I should be able to not get defensive over it so we can work it out.”

“So we were both dumb,” Elle said, allowing a small smile. “It’s very on-brand for us, I think.”

“I agree,” Gavin murmured, smiling back. “But still, I’m sorry. And I know that you probably still want your space—”

Elle closed the space that was still between them and grabbed the front of his collar, pulling him down for a brief kiss. “I think I’ve had more than enough space,” she said after.

“Noted,” Gavin replied.

She held onto the front of his hoodie. “You should probably start driving back now if you’ve got practice tomorrow.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“I don’t have any games Friday or Saturday, though. You should come by.”

Gavin grinned. “Yeah, of course.”

She pulled him down for a second kiss. “Drive safe and text me when you get back.”

“I will,” he murmured.

“But I do have a question.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you mean it?” Elle asked, echoing the small, insecure part of her brain that was still thinking about what Gavin said earlier. “That you love me?”

“Of course I mean it,” Gavin replied. “I wouldn’t throw that around lightly.”

“That’s good,” Elle said, butterflies coming to life in her stomach. “Because I love you, too, even if you are a pain in the ass.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Gavin snickered, and then tugged her into his arms for a hug. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah,” Elle murmured. “Bye, Gav.”

* * *

_Girl Power Chaos Squad_

_Elle  
you guys are not going to believe what just happened_

* * *

Theo poked his head out of his room upon hearing Elle return. “You good, babe?” he called out nervously. His door remained a barrier in case he needed to retreat back into the safety of his room.

Elle threw her keys in the dish by the door. “Never better,” she said, and she meant it.

“So you don’t need the tub of chocolate ice cream I bought just in case things went south?”

Elle laughed. “Bro, I _always_ need ice cream.”

Theo threw his door open wide. “I’ll grab the bowls!”

* * *

“Well?” Jake demanded the next day at practice.

Gavin shrugged nonchalantly, but a smile still slid onto his face. “It wasn’t that bad,” he said. “I did like you said and just said what I felt, and everything worked out for the better.”

“That’s good,” Jake said with a nod. “Now I don’t need to worry about Konecny showing up with his hoard of angry orange demons.”

Gavin shuddered. “He scares the shit out of me.” And then, after a moment, “I probably would have deserved it.”

“Damn right,” Jake said. “Now get your gear on. You’re bag skating today.”

Gavin blanched. “For what?”

“For making me work together with Konecny. His voice is irritating and having to work with him—that shit was painful.”

Gavin groaned, but even he couldn’t argue with that. He did his bag skates, knowing all the while that he was just a few days away from Elle’s smiling face and snarky remarks, and somehow that made it all worth it.


End file.
